Larissa Ione's Blog, page 12

NEW Sin Undone UK Cover

I just got a new…er…old…er…updated cover!

This is for Sin Undone, UK version, that will release this summer. I really liked the old version:

But I LOVE this new version. The model is much closer to how I picture Sin:

What gorgeous eyes! Perfect!

I'm SO excited for the UK releases!!!!!!! Virtual pints and Yorkshire puddings for everyone! (No, seriously, I could live off pints of British beer and Yorkshire puddings…)

We Have A Saying In My Family…

and it goes like this: "If something bad is going to happen, it's going to happen while the husband is gone."

Yeah. Actually, that's a common saying for any military family. But the other thing I hear all the time? "Only you, Larissa. It could only happen to you."

Gah. So true.

So…hubby is gone. Time for someone to get sick, the house to flood, an accident to happen…something.

And last night, I wasn't disappointed.

I'm running late for my son's doctor appointment, and the Subaru battery is nearly dead. Like, it barely turned over. So I rush my son to the doctor, drop him off, and hurry home to get the other vehicle, because I'm afraid to turn the Subaru off at the doctor's office and then have it not start again.

I rush into the garage, jump in the truck, and…the battery is dead. Beyond dead. Not even a click. Jump back in the Subaru, and only get it started after a bazillion attempts. Gah. I managed to get the kid picked up, but there were no places where I could get a new battery installed. So because I couldn't turn the car off, I couldn't go grocery shopping or do any of the other crap I needed to do. Finally, I had to buy a jump starter at Auto Zone so that later, if I need to get the car started, I can at least…start it.

Really…what are the freaking odds that BOTH cars would have dead batteries at the same freaking time??? That's the whole point of having a spare car, right? So if something goes wrong with one, you have another? ARGH!!!!

Anyway, dh will hopefully be home this weekend, so he can handle the new battery situations.

On a positive note, I started off the New Year with a new-to-me author. Karen Marie Moning. OMG, why did I wait???? Unfortunately, I have to wait to read the second book in the Fever series until I get past a pressing deadline and finish a book (which is great!) I'm reading for a quote, but that'll be my treat for turning in the manuscript.

How about you? Have you recently given a new-to-you author a try?

The 3-Star Review

Recently, I've been seeing a lot of talk about the 3-star (or C grade) book review. For the most part, reviewers tend to see them as "not bad," and authors tend to see them as "bad." I've heard many authors say they'd rather have 1-star reviews than 3-star ones, because at least that means that people were passionate about the book — even if the passion ran to the hate side. A 3-star review is more "meh."

My opinion? I'll take the 3 stars or C grade over the F or 1 star any day. Why?

I look at it like this: No, I don't like a "meh" grade — obviously, I'd rather have 4 or 5 stars, or an A or B. But to me, "meh" doesn't mean there's a lack of passion. It means there could have been aspects the reader both loved and hated. It means I could get a second chance. A 1-star review pretty much guarantees that I won't.

I mean, check out this 1-star review. The chick HATES me. I am apparently a huge disappointment and not fit to breathe the same air as JR Ward. This woman will never give me a second chance (which is probably a good thing, in her case.)

Now look at this 3-star review. Not the most flattering review — 3-star reviews rarely are. But the reviewer saw something in the writing that encouraged another try…resulting in the reviewer enjoying the rest of the series.

Let's look at this another way…we'll talk about one of my favorite subjects (no, not demons and vampires, sillies! ) We'll discuss food.

See, I hate water chestnuts and liver. Hate these things with every fiber of my being. I will never EVER eat anything that contains a water chestnut, and the liver thing ain't happening, either. *shudders* I might actually have nightmares about liver-water chestnut casserole now.

Okay, so, growing up, I never liked Brussels sprouts. They were very…meh. Kind of gross, actually. But not 1-star gross. Because they were "meh," I gave them more chances. And now, though I don't rave about them, there are a couple of ways they can be prepared that I LOVE. I'd go as far as saying that, if prepared right, Brussels sprouts are one of my favorite vegetables.

I will continue to try "meh" foods, while foods I HATE will never be eaten again. Ever. Let me just reiterate — liver and water chestnuts will never pass my lips.

This attitude carries over to books. I've read authors and books that are 1-star for me. I don't give them second chances, because something about the writing has pushed a button. But 3-star authors and books get second chances. A bad book in a series of normally good books will also garner second chances. I will continue to read authors/books I've given 3 stars to. (None of this is public, by the way — I rate in my head, not anywhere else. Well, I do play at Goodreads sometimes, but I only rate books I like, unless they are outside the romance genre.)

What about you? If you read a new-to-you author and hate the book enough to give it a 1 star, will you give another chance? What about 3 stars?

And are there any foods you hate so much you won't eat them again? Because I can't be alone in my liver hate…

A Special Release Day…Contest

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, I was a kid. (Emphasis on a long, long time ago.) I read a lot of books, but the ones I most looked forward to were horror novels. Of course, this was back before the internet, cable, and newspapers. (Okay, yes, we had newspapers, but we lived in Siberia, where we barely got the teeny town newspaper — nothing big like the New York Times.)

So anyway, I never knew when new books released. I'd just go to the store, browse the book section (we didn't have a proper book store, so you had to hit the book section in the grocery store or at Kmart) and get all excited when I found a new horror novel by a favorite author.

Then I grew up, and I still didn't know that Tuesdays were the magic day when books release. Heck, I didn't even know this until well after I was published and I finally figured out that all my books released on Tuesdays.

I'm a little slow.

Anyway, so today is Tuesday, and a gob of new books are dropping. Newly downloaded onto my Kindle or in the mail to be delivered today are Skin Heat, by Ava Gray, and Frostfire, by Lynn Viehl, among others.

I can't wait to read Skin Heat, because Ava Gray is fantastic, and I loved the first two books in her Skin Series. But I've already read Frostfire…and people, let me tell you, the book is awesome. The best of Lynn's books yet. And I'm not just saying that because the hero is hot. Or because the heroine has a special connection with animals (and those who know me know I'm an animal lover to an extreme.) Or because the book is dedicated to me.

No, really. That last reason is not why AT ALL.

But it doesn't hurt.

See, Lynn Viehl is one of a handful of people who I credit with getting me through a hard time and without whom I'd never have been published. There's this thing with a lucky dictionary…which is also mentioned in the dedication. And which may or may not also be in one of my dedications in one of my books. *blinks innocently*

But more than that, Ms. Viehl is generous. If you follow her blog at all, you know that she spends a ton of time helping out writers and giving it to you straight. Priceless, truly.

Most of all, she is a talented author, one who constantly amazes me. Each book is better than the last, and I'm not kidding — Frostfire is the best of the best. If you haven't read her Darkyn or Kyndred series…do. Frostfire also stands alone if you want to start there.

In fact, if you want to start there, I'll help out. Go congratulate Lynn on her release day, and then come back here and comment. I'll give away a copy of Frostfire to three lucky winners.

Contest ends 1/15!

Good luck!!!

Happy New Year!

So, I'm a day late with this. I'd intended to post yesterday, but a migraine derailed me. Nice — migraine on the first day of the New Year. I really hope that's not some sort of cosmic sign!

Anyway, for me, last year was marked by business success and personal complications, the latter of which I'm still feeling the fallout for. The month I spent on the west coast put me behind in my deadlines, and that got worse when, at the end of the that month, I broke my right arm. Six weeks later, I learned I broke the left arm too. So I'm now scrambling to catch up.

I get to go into the New Year already behind. Awesome.

BUT…I've already got a good start on what will be a very…interesting year. I bought new Skechers Shape-Ups to jumpstart getting back into shape after I hand in the novella due next week. Yay!

And I also get to start concentrating on the conferences I'll be attending. This year, I'll be at RWA in New York, and I'll be at Authors After Dark in Philadelphia (where I'm Master of Ceremonies! Squee!) I hope you can attend at least one of those — and remember, even if you don't go to the conference, there are public signings you can attend for free!

This year will also see my husband transferring duty stations. Since he's been in the Coast Guard and we've been married, his job has taken us to Texas, Oregon, California, Washington (twice), Michigan, Mississippi, Virginia, and now, Wisconsin. But for a number of reasons, my son and I aren't going on the next transfer. My husband will do it alone. We're hoping he gets stationed nearby, where he can come home on long weekends. If not, and he gets sent a long ways away, we'll suck it up and deal. We've had to live apart for a year before, and we can do it again. It's nothing other military wives don't deal with while their spouses are in Iraq or Afghanistan. At least mine won't be in danger.

This year will also see the launch of my new series, the Lords of Deliverance. I'm incredibly nervous about it — the way I was when the Demonica series launched. I'm always a wreck when any new book releases, but starting a brand new adventure with a brand new series has magnified the pre-release jitters on a regular book. Ack!

I'll have five releases this year: Eternity Embraced (enhanced ebook version of the story in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2), Eternal Rider, Taken By Fire, Vampire Fight Club (in the Supernatural Anthology,) and Immortal Rider.

Crazily enough, I'll also finish the Lords of Deliverance series this year. At the time Immortal Rider releases next November, I'll have handed in book 4.

So this year I have to write two books. I also plan to write up a proposal for a book that will fuse the Demonica books and the Lords of Deliverance books, and a proposal for a Young Adult series my son wants me to write. So…two books and two proposals for the year. Not bad — I just need to get caught up so I'm not scrambling!

On a personal level, this year will be an adventure as well. My son will be starting high school this fall. OMG, when did he get so old??? Oh, right…when I did. Heh.

So there we have it — my coming year in a nutshell. It sounded pretty laid back until I wrote this blog post, and now I'm sweating again! *g*

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2011 brings you good health, good friends, and good reads!

Favorite Things 2010

Every year I do an Oprah-style list of all the things I found and loved during the year. Past lists included things like my Macbook Pro, iPod, Plugra butter, seltzer water…you just never know what I'm going to love.

This year, the list is short, but the things I love are awesome!

So, in no particular order, here are my favorite things of 2010:

1. A Kindle. I was SO not expecting to love an e-reader. I still can't live without print books, but I've found that the Kindle is perfect for reading friends' manuscripts, books sent to me to give quotes, and all those free books on Amazon. Awesome.

2. Droid X. I really wanted an iPhone, but my wireless carrier doesn't have it (yet.) So I went with the Droid X late this summer, and I have to say, I adore it. Lots of useful and fun apps, a big screen for playing games, texting, and emailing, and a pretty decent camera. I'm pretty happy with this phone!

3. Steam Shark. It's probably weird to love a cleaning appliance, but this thing rocks!!! We have gorgeous wood laminate flooring…but there's a catch: it's only gorgeous when it's clean. The floor is dark and shiny, so it shows EVERYTHING. Every speck of dust, every drip of water. Cleaning it is a nightmare. Like, hands and knees nightmare. Cleaning products always leave ugly streaks and a haze unless you polish it by hand. Then I found the Steam Shark. Now it takes ten minutes to clean the floors (used to take a good hour), and they're shiny, streak-free, and dry almost instantly — without chemicals. LURVE.

4. Fekkai Technician Color Care Mask It's no secret that I love to change my hair color — frequently. What can I say…I get bored. And hey, you only live once, and it's just hair — it grows back. So anyway, I like dark, rich, intense colors…which also happen to be the ones that fade quickly. This Fekkai conditioner really helps preserve color, and it makes hair so soft and shiny. I haven't found anything better. It's expensive, but it lasts a long time!

5. Medline Remedy Skin Repair Cream Last summer, I had to take an emergency trip to the west coast for a family emergency. I spent a lot of time at the hospital, and I'd forgotten hand lotion. Fortunately, the hospital kept lotion in stock. I tried the Medline Remedy lotion and fell in love with it. I hate greasy-feeling lotions, and while this is thick and creamy, it doesn't leave a greasy feeling. Right at first it does, but within a minute, it's gone, and skin stays soft and hydrated, with a pleasant scent. This has become one of my favorite lotions of all time. I take it everywhere with me!

Well, that's it for me this year. What about you? What is one of your favorite things you discovered this year?

Merry Christmas!!!

I'm going to be out of touch for a little while, but I wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday! We're drinking coffee and watching the snow come down and eating way too much.

I'm also going to be a little self-indulgent and share a pic I took the other day. It's a little fuzzy, but it's just too cute. My son was outside playing, and we had a six-foot snowdrift outside one of our upper story windows. The cat, who LOVES my son and who isn't used to people standing outside the window, had to check him out. They spent a good ten minutes staring at each other, with my cat trying to whack my son in the face.

So anyway, happy, snowy Christmas from Wisconsin!

Pleasure Unbound Germany!

I have a new foreign edition cover! This will be my first Demonica book published in Germany, and I'm thrilled! I visited Germany a few years ago and loved it. What's funny is that I was actually in Germany when I got "The Call."

Stephanie called me while I was there to tell me that we'd made our first big sale in a three book deal with Random House — the Sydney Croft books. So Germany holds a special place in my heart.

So anyway, here's the German edition of Pleasure Unbound, releasing next June.

German readers can pre-order here.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!!

More Awesome Covers!

Squee! I have new covers! These are for the UK editions of Sin Undone and Pleasure Unbound. What do you think? I love how the caduceus is made into an "I".

Yay!!!! Pleasure Unbound will release in the UK and Commonwealth countries next August.

And now for Sin…

Woot! Sin releases next July. For those who are wondering why Sin Undone releases first, it's because if they waited, it would be two years since Sin released in the U.S., so the publisher is doing it this way.

The schedule for UK releases is:

Sin Undone: July

Pleasure Unbound: August

Desire Unchained: Sept.

Passion Unleashed: Nov.

Ecstasy Unveiled: Dec.

Blizzard!

So…we're in the middle of a blizzard. Well, not the middle, I guess, since we're at the tail end, but geez, this has been a big one. It started last night, went through the night, and it's still going on. There's so much snow that I can't open my back door, and it's piled to the top of our split rail fence in the back yard.

The driveway, though…ugh. We have a good three feet of snow in places, and the snow plow has created a monster mountain at the end of the drive. And naturally, my husband is gone, which means I have to deal with the snow by myself. Fortunately, we have a snow blower. Unfortunately, the thing is a monster, and operating it requires that you have a degree in space shuttle piloting.

On top of that, it's 19 degrees outside with a below zero windchill and 40 mph winds. *sobs*

Trying to remember why I wanted to move to Wisconsin.

Oh, right…because I love snow. Of course, I love it when I get to stay inside and my husband deals with the outside.

I can't wait for him to retire…